Understanding a Vehicle Record Check

Most vehicle record checks tend to be very user-friendly, with logical categories and easy-to-read details. We'll explain the different sections of a typical vehicle history report in what follows.

• Ownership history. If a used car has had a number of owners, it's unlikely you will get a good vehicle history from the current seller. Additionally, with used cars, as the numbers of previous owners goes up, the value of the car goes down. The ownership history section of vehicle record checks will give you a snapshot of how many owners the vehicle has had, where they lived, and how many miles they drove the car per year.
• Title history. For each owner, your vehicle history report will tell you what types of titles exist on the car and when they changed hands, if ever. Good vehicle history report companies guarantee the information provided in this section. Your report will tell you if the vehicle has a salvage, junk, rebuilt, lemon, fire, hail, or flood history in its title.
• Additional history. Depending on the vehicle record check service you use, this section's contents may vary. Here is an overview of what is typically included.
• Total loss. If an insurance company ever deemed the vehicle a total loss, your vehicle history report will reflect that.
• Structural or frame damage. Your report will tell you if past owners ever reported any structural/frame damage to the vehicle. If so, you should have a structural inspection of the vehicle done before you buy.
• Airbag deployment. If the airbag in your vehicle ever deployed, vehicle record checks will tell you when the incidents were reported.
• Odometer rollback. When the mileage on a vehicle decreases when it changes hands from one owner to another, your report will flag the vehicle for possible odometer fraud.
• Accident/damage. Any accidents that were reported and involved the vehicle will show up here, as will any inspections at auto body repair shops.
• Manufacturer recalls. If the automaker has issued any recalls on the vehicle, your report service will tell you.
• Basic warranty. Vehicles for which the basic original warranty has expired will be flagged in vehicle record checks. In the event the warranty is expired, you might want to look into buying an extended warranty.
• Detailed history. This section will expand upon the information provided in the summary sections described above. For example, for each owner of your vehicle, your report will indicate where the owner lived, how long he/she owned the vehicle, and how many miles the car had at the time of each major transaction (e.g., vehicle sold, date of registration, etc.).